All great questions @fredericgonzalo!  I do think the IPO will drive change in Facebook.  They will look to become more profitable with their ads.  I do see them possible adding some Timeline features to the Pages to keep the look similar but I don’t think it makes sense for it to be completely like the profiles.  I could be wrong on that.  I also think Google+ will continue to gain ground and cause Facebook to innovate and differentiate.  
Other thoughts?

These are really good questions and having me scratching my head a bit thinking about how businesses might use Timeline – like you asked. Not sure how I feel about that.

I hope the IPO does happen and that it will force Facebook to better enforce their TOS. I imagine a lot of friend pages that are actually businesses will be deleted this year.

I’m grateful for the growth of Google + as it does force Facebook’s hand toward innovation. 

Thanks for the thought provoking questions, @fredericgonzalo!

@prasantnaidu @traceywarren

Thanks for your feedback. Indeed, we have no crystal ball, so it’s tough to predict what will come in 2012. However, I would recommend reading these two posts to some light in this discussion:

The Year in Facebook Acquisitions is good read to better understand where Facebook will be headed in 2012. As Prasant mentioned, the acquisition of Gowall, along with the increasing focus on mobile, lends to believe facebook has not crossed off (yet) its strategy into location-based services (LBS).

Along the same lines, it seems Foursquare is at a cross-roads (pun intended). So the fight for LBS domination is far from over, unlike what some people thought once Gowalla was bought earlier this month. Read here: Foursquare’s claim to fame, the check-in, could become its downfall

Tracey, I agree about Timeline for business: it’s still a head-scratcher at this point, but surely some clever folks will come up with a way to monetize it, or at least make it significant for brands. We shall find out in 2012!

@prasantnaidu Thanks for the feedback, Prasant. By the way, I clicked on the link for the interview, it leads to an article on BMW (Mini) Facebook initiative in India. Interesting article, but no interview nor mention of Foursquare in there – wrong link, could it be?

@prasantnaidu Got it, read it. I would agree with these seven social media trends as key moving forward.

By the way, if you are interested in location-based marketing, a great video interview published today: ow.ly/8irGB

Cheers,

@sgsrecording Indeed, hangouts and circles are the two features that seem to give G+ an edge versus facebook, twitter and other populare social networks. It will be interesting to see how quickly and efficiently facebook will be able to replicate or improve.

With facebook acquiring Skype, you’d think a better version of hangout would be developed shortly, but it has yet to be seen. Time will tell, right?

@sgsrecording My bad! Facebook did not acquire Skype, Microsoft did back in May 2011.
What I was refering to was the joint partnership between Facebook and Skype, announced in July, shortly after G+ had come out with its hangout feature.
See here for details: http://www.pcworld.com/article/235229/facebooks_skype_integration_heres_how_to_get_started_on_video_chat.html

Cheers,
Frederic

Well, looks like Facebook will have some big announcements this week, hence the press event coming this Wednesday. Curious, curious…

http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2012/01/13/facebook-press-event-in-san-francisco-to-be-held-next-wednesday/?awesm=tnw.to_1Cnzr